The Reluctant Communist: My Desertion, Court-Martial, and Forty-Year Imprisonment in North Korea
I was browsing upcoming books on Amazon.com last night and I happened to discover that an English language version of Charles Robert Jenkins’ autobiography has found a publisher and will be released in early 2008! It is co-written by Jim Frederick, who interviewed Jenkins back in 2004 for an article in Time Magazine, and is described as the following:
In January of 1965, twenty-four-year-old U.S. Army sergeant Charles Robert Jenkins abandoned his post in South Korea, walked across the DMZ, and surrendered to communist North Korean soldiers standing sentry along the world’s most heavily militarized border. He believed his action would get him back to the States and a short jail sentence. Instead he found himself in another sort of prison, where for forty years he suffered under one of the most brutal and repressive regimes the world has known. This fast-paced, harrowing tale, told plainly and simply by Jenkins (with journalist Jim Frederick), takes the reader behind the North Korean curtain and reveals the inner workings of its isolated society while offering a powerful testament to the human spirit.
Jenkins’ Japanese language autobiography, entitled “Confession,” appeared a few years ago and sold well thanks to the minor celebrity status he enjoys here. The very descriptive title of his English language biography is probably a good idea, since few Americans outside of this blog’s readership are familiar with his name or the fact that someone like him even exists. But maybe that will change after this book hits store shelves in the States?
If you’re interested in reading this book, pre-order it for a nice discount from Amazon.com today!
A list of previous Japan Probe posts that display my obsession with Jenkins-related news:
- Charles Robert Jenkins Pictures (August 09, 2006)
- Charles Jenkins: hard at work selling souvenirs (April 02, 2007)
- Charles Robert Jenkins doesn’t like North Korean dog meat yakiniku (April 14, 2007)
- Joseph Dresnok Is Drinking & Smoking Himself To Death In North Korea (July 13, 2007)
- Charles Robert Jenkins Speaks Out About Kidnapped Thai Woman (Sept 20, 2007)
- Charles R. Jenkins, Rice Salesman (November 10, 2007)
Full RSS Feed
Given the fact that Jenkins was also given a dishonorable discharge from the US Army, I think there are a lot of veterans out there who will be deeply offended that Jenkins chose to use a photo of himself in his Army uniform for the front cover of his book.
I think you are right on (that they will think that). That was my first thought when I saw it (I’m an Army brat).
I have little time for the man, though I admit it would be a fascinating book to read, but I am glad the military did what it did, for his wife’s sake.
She was kidnapped, lived for years in Nork, seems to love this guy – it was compassionate to let him off the hook for her sake, not his.
I don’t see the point in putting him in a US prison, but certainly stripping his US citizenship was appropriate.
I’m interested, but that doesn’t mean I’ll buy the book. What he did was pretty terrible. I can understand being afraid to go to Vietnam, but the man betrayed his country and helped train North Korean spies. Given he wasn’t successful but the fact that he even agreed to such a thing is disgraceful.
If I was stuck in Nork, I’d agree to it. I’d teach them all sorts of valuable information, like how, on arrival in the US, it is considered a gesture of respect to the police to stick your middle finger up at them. That will guarantee them a warm welcome….
He couldn’t train North Korean spies because he was poorly educated and speaks with a backwoods accent (I have troubled understanding what he’s saying sometimes when he appears on TV). If anything, it was a drain of North Korean resources to feed him for so many years when he accomplished so little for them.
He made a stupid decision to run away to North Korea, thinking he’d eventually be sent back to America and do prison time there. Instead he was forced to stay in North Korea for 40 years, which is probably worse than the punishment he would have received for attempted desertion (they don’t shoot deserters anymore).
The guy’s scum, and should have been shot for desertion instead of the slap on the hand 30 days in jail and a DD.
Good ol’ Christian American love speaking here. You people are monsters.
Christian – nope, atheist.
American – wrong again, I’m a German Citizen (living/working in the US).
People who abandon their military duties are the lowest of cowards – and the fact that this one still lives is a slap in the face for all the military people who took their commitment seriously (as I did, and am proud to have done so).
You would think people from the land that invented Kamikaze (神風) would understand that.
Yup, such a humane, compassionate, and fair sentence for a man such as him, Vonskippy.
/endsarcasm.
By no means was what he did right, but his fate should not be put into the hands of people like you. He has made some mistakes in his life, we all have. He suffered severely for them and has learned to put others before him, and to accept the responsibilities of what he did back then.
I do not regard him as a hero, but I do respect him for what he is Today and not years ago.
I’m in the U.S. Military and I think the penalty for desertion during wartime is still death.
Yeah, but that hasn’t been exercised in years, and there are other punishments used in lieu.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/punitivearticles/a/mcm85_3.htm
Also,
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/military_desertions_071115w/
It’s quite humorous to hear he had it bad; he was well fed, much more so than other North Koreans, had a house with electricity, and was given a compassionate wife and something to call a job.
Had he lived anywhere else (USA or Japan) instead of joining the army and getting known for his N.K. stint, I can guarantee you he would neither have gotten married or lived as long as he has; I honestly believe he would have died living as an alcoholic hobo considering his poor ability to grasp even his native tongue and judgment skills.
Defecting into North Korea, as dishonorable as it is, was the BEST thing he could ever do for his life, and he luckily did. The fact that he doesn’t realize it or can’t admit it shows that he is still a coward or is that blatantly stupid, and I say this because he simply doesn’t consider the fact that many vets alive today, and many other young brave American soldiers who lose limbs in the line of duty, will not get the same luxuries he has had, simply because they did not betray their country and that kidnapping some 3rd world girls and giving them as brides is not something the government condones.
Japan isn’t 3rd world…